William Frederick Deacon
William Frederick Deacon (26 July 1799 - 18 March 1845) was an English poet, journalist, and miscellaneous writer.Sutton, 248. Life Deacon was born in Caroline Place, Mecklenburgh Square, London, the eldest son of a London merchant. He was educated under Dr. Valpy at the Reading School, where Thomas Noon Talfourd was a schoolfellow. He then attended St Catharine Hall, Cambridge, but did not graduate. Abandoning the intention of taking holy orders, he entered on a literary career and found a publisher in William Hone for his first poem, a production of promise, entitled Hacho, or the Spell of St. Wilten.Sutton, 249. He next undertook the editorship of a daily journal, The Déjeuné, or Companion for the Breakfast Table,’ which was issued every morning from 21 Octoberto 15 Dec., 1820, when the issue was changed to three times a week and shortly after ceased. This venture was published by Gold & Northouse, who also put forth a ‘London Magazine’ (1820–1) as a rival to the better known periodical of the same name, edited by John Scott and published by Baldwin, and they enlisted Deacon as a chief contributor. His health failing, he retired to Llangadock in South Wales, from which place he wrote for counsel and guidance to Sir Walter Scott, who sent him some kind and interesting letters. At this time his father tried in vain to turn his attention from literature to commerce. In 1823 he published a volume of clever sketches of Welsh manners and scenery, entitled The Innkeeper's Album. On 1824 appeared his Warreniana, with Notes, Critical and Explanatory, by the Editor of a Quarterly Review, consisting of a series of burlesque imitations of popular authors in the style of the ‘Rejected Addresses,’ and in praise of Warren's blacking. It was published by Longman's and met with much success. It was reprinted in 1851. He also wrote November Tales, a collection of tales and essays. In 1829 he lost an annuity of £100. hitherto received from a relative, and was driven to depend entirely on his literary efforts. After acting for a short period as assistant in a school at Dulwich, he joined the staff of the Sun newspaper as contributor of its literary criticism, and became esteemed as a critic of sound judgment and taste. This engagement continued until his death. He wrote also in Blackwood's Magazine, and one of his series of papers, The Picture Gallery (1837–9), was subsequently reprinted. In 1835 he published his humorous tale in two volumes, The Exile of Erin; or, The sorrows of a Bashful Irishman, which attained considerable popularity both at home and in America. Deacon lived many years in comparative seclusion, happy in the society of his wife and children, in Malvern Terrace, Islington, where he died in his forty-sixth year. He left behind him the manuscript of a novel called Annette, which was published in three volumes in 1853, with a prefatory memoir by Sir T. N. Talfourd. Publications Poetry *''Hacho; or, The spell of St. Wilten''. London: William Hone, 1820? *''Warreniana; with notes, critical and explanatory. London: Longmn, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, & Green, 1824; Boston: Wells & Lilly, 1824 **also published as ''Parodies of the Romantic Age (edited by John Strachan), Volume IV. London: Pickering & Chatto, 1999. Novels *''The Exile of Erin; or, The sorrows of a bashful Irishman''. (2 volumes), London: Whittaker, 1835 **also published as The Adventures of a Bashful Irishman. London: Routledge, Warne, & Routledge, 1862. *''Annette: A tale'' (with memoir by Sir T.N. Talfourd). (3 volumes), London: Henry Colburn, 1852. Volume I, Volume II,Volume III Short fiction *''The Inn-keeper's Album''. London: T. M'Lean, 1823. *''November Nights; or, Tales for winter evenings''. London: T. Maclean, 1826. *''The Picture Gallery''. London: Bushill & Deacon, 1858. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:William Frederick Deacon, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 2, 2016. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, June 2, 2016. Notes External links ;Poems *William Frederick Deacon (1799-1845) info & 4 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830 ;About * Deacon, William Frederick Category:1799 births Category:1845 deaths Category:19th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:English journalists Category:English poets Category:Poets Category:People from London